“You went all the way to Iceland on the sky highway?” Roland asked. “Cool.”
“Very.” I agreed. “Plus the trip gave me thinking time. Once I realized what a dork I was to constantly follow the Purple Menace around, I came up with my plan to defeat him.”
Jerry had a question next. “Eric, did you travel to the other dimension, too? Is it like Chloe and Roland describe?”
Eric nodded. “Strange place.”
“In a weird way, the Purple Menace fit right in,” I said.
“If he stays there,” Eric said.
Roland sat up, excitement on his face. “Good point. In comics, a supervillain is only vanquished temporarily. He always returns.”
“No way,” I shuddered. “I’m sick of the whole thing, the dreams, the drawings, all this interdimensional travel.”
“You can’t mean that, Chloe,” Roland protested. “We had a great adventure. You are a superheroine.”
“Temporary superheroine. The amulet is gone, the portal is closed, and I’m hanging up my costume.”
“Don’t relax too quickly, Chloe.” Barb hadn’t spoken before. She’d been holding an unlit cigarette for an hour. Trying to quit?
“Dave left this for you.” She held up a sparkling jewel on a delicate chain, the kind of crystal that could be bought at almost any jewelry counter or comicon dealers’ room.
“Nice,” I said, as I took it.
“Is that the Dimensional Diamond?” Jerry asked, startled.
Eric frowned.
Barb nodded.
“Sweet,” Roland said, excited. “Chloe, the Dimensional Diamond can give its wearer amazing powers.”
Not again. “This can’t be happening,” I wailed. “Damn him.”
“Your father has a wicked sense of humor, dear,” Barb said, as if her own wasn’t equally wicked.
“Fine, Mom,” I replied. “You wear it. You can be the next temporary superheroine if Dave needs one. Me, I’ve got a life and a career to build.”
Barb put her hands behind her back and shook her head. I tossed the jewel onto Eric’s coffee table.
“It’s good to have my own life back,” Eric said. “Chloe is convinced I’m quite villainous enough running a major comic book company. Being mentally and physically linked to a supervillain bent on world domination was excessive.”
“Was the Purple Menace draining power from you all along?” Roland asked.
“I’m sure of it. His anger and negativity didn’t make me a happy camper. I’m more positive about life.”
There spoke the Midwestern boy behind the big-city success. Eric Wood was a lot older than me, and he definitely had a more significant career going, but despite the trappings, he was the kind of man I could understand. Even respect. Maybe we had a chance.
In the weird dream of the noir bar, Roland had told me to trust Eric. Both men had been important partners in this adventure Dave had thrust upon me. My feelings for Eric were unresolved. We’d had a brief sexual relationship. From the warm looks he cast at me now, he wanted it to continue. I wanted that, too. Good sex with someone you care about is great. It’s a foundation for trying to see if there’s more.
“So what’s next for you young people?” Jerry asked. “Chloe?”
“I’m moving back home for a while, I think.” I looked sideways at my mom. She didn’t frown. “I want to make my ‘Average Chloe’ webcomic a success.” I intended to concentrate on my craft. Of course, if Eric wanted to offer me roommate space, I might take him up on it.
“I’m returning to Chicago,” said Roland. “I took a leave of absence to help out.”
“Does anybody know if we have to shoot more footage for the TV show?” I asked.
A collective groan arose.
“You had to bring that up, didn’t you?” Jerry asked. “Eric, what’s the verdict? Any word from the television people?”
Eric turned to his two editors, who had been mostly silent, clearly awed by the company they were allowed to keep. Yes, even mine.
“They want a couple of closing shots of you all. About a half-hour’s work,” said Mutt. Turned out that was his name, Mutt Engels. His pal Jeff was Hi Kamen.
A few minutes later, I said goodbye to Roland. Jerry had invited him to be a special guest on the set on Monday. Roland would stay in Jerry’s hotel suite. Of course Roland was in fanboy heaven.
I planned to enjoy my tiny midtown hotel room while it lasted. Barb was heading home to Queens. The trains were running and she knew her way. Mutt and Jeff, I mean Hi, left with her. As I was about to go, too, Eric put his large hand on my shoulder.
“Chloe and I still have something to discuss,” he said, seeing the others off. Once the elevator door closed, he turned to me. His eyes glittered.
“Where are you going tonight?” he asked.
“My hotel. I might as well stay in town to wrap up the show.”
“That’s not what I meant.” By now, he had turned me to face him. He gazed intently at me. “We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do. What do you want from me, Eric?” My tone was irritated. What did his determined expression mean?
“Are you asking my intentions?” He seemed amused rather than annoyed at my resistance.
“Knock it off.” My mouth curved in a cheeky smile. I backed him up against the wall, shoving myself against him. I could sense his pleasure as my breasts touched his chest. His body molded mine firmly. “You had me going for a minute,” I said.
Eric smiled his shark-like smile that was never going to be sweet. He had me. He could feel me melting against him. But I could feel his reaction to me. I had him, too. At least until we figured this thing out.
“Listen, you,” I threatened. “I want to know if you’re going to hold my hand in public when we walk into the TV studio together.”
“You’re my lady if you want to be.” The flash of his white teeth, the strength in his arms as he wrapped them around me, just the sheer animal weight of him. They all felt right.
“Deal.”
My dreams that night were utterly innocuous and forgettable. What came before was a different story.
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Temporary Superheroine. If you enjoyed this story, please tell your friends, and please post your reaction on Amazon by clicking here. Write just a line or two, or write a long essay if you prefer. Thanks!
Chloe's adventures as Temporary Superheroine continue in Book 2, Crisis at Comicon, available now by clicking here. If you'd like to be notified about the release of future stories (Chloe is definitely getting a Book 3), click this link or go to my website, irenevartanoff.com, to join my mailing list. I promise I'll keep your info private and only contact you when I am announcing a new book for sale.
Acknowledgments
I wrote this book out of my longtime love for comic books, and then I passed it by a crew of beta readers who also love comics. My sincere thanks to all of them: Ron Fradkin, William Gafford, Sharon Ing, Kyle McAbee, Jacque Nodell, Ellen Vartanoff, and Byrd Williamson.
Irene Vartanoff
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
A Note from the Author
Acknowledgments
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